Computers have become highly integrated in the workforce, in the home, in mobile devices, and many other places. Computers can process massive amounts of information quickly and efficiently. Software applications designed to run on computer systems allow users to perform a wide variety of functions including business applications, schoolwork, entertainment and more. Software applications are often designed to perform specific tasks, such as word processor applications for drafting documents, or email programs for sending, receiving and organizing email.
In some cases, software applications may be designed to identify and filter certain types of messages. For example, anti-spam applications or services may be configured to analyze email messages and determine which messages are spam messages. Those messages identified as spam may be filtered out by the application so that they are not delivered to the end user. The application that identifies spam messages may identify the spam messages by applying various rules to the message. If a certain number of the rules apply to the message, the message is identified as spam and is discarded.